The Greatest Garden Photographers in the world (?)

May 21, 2013 by Mark | 1 Comment

A motley bunch indeed… is this, in Chelsea Flower Show’s centenary year, a record of the most revered and influential garden photographers or just a bunch of reprobates with annoying tripods and camera bags?… pictured here are some revered legends of the garden photography world… Jerry Harpur (with next generation Marcus too), Andrew Lawson, Clive Nichols, Jonny Buckley, Andrea Jones, Derek St Romaine, Gary Rogers, Vivian Russell, Clive Boursnell… considering the amount of money they’ve all made from their myriad books and publications, you’d think they’d be a little less scruffy wouldn’t you?! (apart from Jerry who has made an effort)… and you know what? considering I’m supposed to be a photographer, its a bit embarrassing, but when viewed full size, this picture is slightly out of focus!! don’t tell anyone…

The Garden Photographers at Chelsea Flower Show, 2013

The Garden Photographers at Chelsea Flower Show, 2013

Share this post...
Posted in Garden Photography Tagged , , , , , |

Photography of Flooring Tips

May 8, 2013 by Mark | Leave a comment

Shooting flooring or carpets is a tricky business, because the subject matter is in such a weird position when you think about it!  I spent a lot of last summer shooting images for Mandarin Stone, ably assisted by brilliant stylist Louisa (who happens to also be the boss!)… Its quite hard to make the floor look ‘natural’ when shooting from above, and it would be easy to end up with a weird looking picture , full of floor, with a bit of ‘interest’ around the edges.  So, we use shift lenses, which enable a normal shooting position (so reducing the weird angles), but a full view of the beauty of the tiling/paving or carpets.  Its important to style the ‘other bits’ (cupboards, tables etc), but not too much that it takes your eye off the main event.  Louisa is obviously very good at this (she’s had plenty of experience!), and I think our final results looked rather good!

Flooring Photography for Mandarin Stone

Flooring Photography for Mandarin Stone

Share this post...
Posted in Interior Photography, Kitchen Photography, Lifestyle Photography Tagged , , , , , , , |

Photography at Harington’s Hotel, Bath

May 7, 2013 by Mark | 1 Comment

I have recently spent a day photographing at this lovely little hotel in Bath city centre,  for new marketing and website use.  It’s a great little hotel, right in the ‘thick’ of it, with modern, clean rooms, good breakfasts and two very friendly owners, Peter and Melissa.  We shot a variety of rooms, some food, and the little garden with its jacuzzi…  The hotel has car parking available, which is helpful, because the one way system in Bath is maddest I have come across!  These images are a good example of what we can do in a one day shoot… enough to spruce up any hotel web site!  We photograph hotels across the UK and Europe, please call or email if you need a quote or some information.

Hotel Photography in Bath

Harington’s Hotel in Bath, Photography

Share this post...
Posted in Food Photography, Hotel Photography, Interior Photography Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Beautiful Kitchens Photography

April 27, 2013 by Mark | Leave a comment

Just completed a kitchen shoot for a well known kitchens magazine… Photography is made so much easier when the light is right, and we took full advantage of the sun at this shoot.  The results are obvious to see, but actually balancing the light, indoor and out, is the tricky bit.  It’s actually ‘easier’, I find, to shoot interiors overcast conditions, but the results with a sunny day are much more ‘zingy’ and fresh.  It helps that the owner has great style, and it helps that the kitchen designer, and maker, Bill Woodroffe of Somerset, made such a beautiful kitchen!

Kitchen Photography

Photography of Bill Woodroffe’s kitchen in Sussex

Share this post...
Posted in Kitchen Photography Tagged , , , , , , , |

Westonbirt spring sunshine

April 21, 2013 by Mark | Leave a comment

Beautiful light yesterday morning for flower photography at Westonbirt Arboretum… a great way to start the weekend, fresh air, (loud!) birdsong and a riot of colour from the Rhododendrons, Magnolias and windflowers… enchanting place…

Magnolia buds at Westonbirt

Magnolia buds at Westonbirt

Westonbirt Arboretum

Corylopsis at Westonbirt Arboretum

Flower Photography at Westonbirt

Prunus, Cherry Blossom

Flower Photography at Westonbirt

Hydrangea seed head

 

 

 

Share this post...
Posted in Garden Photography Tagged , , , , , , |

Boo!

April 19, 2013 by Mark | Leave a comment

It’s good to get out of one’s comfort zone now and again. So this week I spent a day working with Belle & Boo, which for those of you who aren’t the parents of little people, is a charming and successful children’s brand based around  the characters Belle, a  little girl and Boo, a rabbit.  Think Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter, Enid Blyton, The Velveteen Rabbit, Mabel Lucie Attwell, smock frocks all rolled into one.  The shoot involved two little gals, afternoon tea all laid out on proper (tot sized)  china,  the icing of cup cakes and a toy bunny – as my teenage daughter might say, ‘sweeeeeeeeeet!’.  This sort of Lifestyle and product photography requires a light touch and informality so we used natural light mixed with a little fill in flash, and the models were shot quickly and with as little fuss as possible… hope it shows!  the company is based in Bristol and the excellent Nicky Owen of White Rabbit Media was stylist supreme…

Belle and Boo Lifestyle Photography

Lifestyle photography for Belle and Boo, a childrens home ware company based in Bristol

 

Share this post...
Posted in Lifestyle Photography, Mark Bolton Photography Tagged , , , , , , |

Gara Rock, Devon

April 10, 2013 by Mark | Leave a comment

I have been photographing the brilliant restaurant and spa interiors designed by Kendall Kingscott for the newly-built  Gara Rock development right down on the tip of South Devon… a lovely area with a fantastic secret (ish) beach and a cliff top location to die for!  We have fond memories of the old hotel with its wood-panelled bar which hinted at a more glamorous past and where we used to stop for a quick pint after traipsing up the hill from the beach – a perfect spot to catch your breath and take in the fabulous views and sunsets.

The team from the nearby Millbrook Inn at  South Pool have taken over the restaurant, and the food is, by all accounts, great.  The interiors are industrial/contemporary with lots of barn wood being used to clad the walls.  Much of the furniture was designed and built in the area and there’s a  real emphasis on keeping everything ‘local, honest and sustainable’.  Sleek tables and sky blue chairs  with funky retro lights above lend the place a clean, airy and distinctly modern feel. Very refreshing when one may have expected to find New England style cladding and overdone ‘nautical accessories’ – this place is much cooler than that!

The Gara Rock development at Rickham, South Devon

The Gara Rock development at Rickham, South Devon, interiors designed by Kendall Kingscott

…and if you’re in the area, you can always visit the fabulous Pigs Nose Inn at East Prawle!

Share this post...
Posted in Hotel Photography, Interior Photography Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Gara Rock, Rickham Beach

April 1, 2013 by Mark | 1 Comment

The coldest easter since I was born, and the wind is biting… but this lady on the beach at Rickham (beneath ‘Gara Rock‘ that I am photographing at the moment) seems to be enjoying herself… some parts of the world are just beautiful, whatever the weather can throw at us!  I’ll post further pics of the Gara Rock development once I do them (waiting for some sun!)

Gara Rock beach, south Devon

Gara Rock beach, south Devon

Share this post...
Posted in Lifestyle Photography, Travel Photography

Lillian Delevoryas

March 27, 2013 by Mark | Leave a comment

Lillian Delevoryas is a wise and wonderful octogenarian artist and just happens to be our neighbour. In exchange for some photography, she offered us one of her paintings.  So hard to choose when she has such a prolific output, much of which lines the walls of her flat. There are nudes in various poses, works of religious iconography influenced by her Greek Orthodox faith, vivid interiors and wildly colourful flower paintings one of which we finally ended up selecting. It’s called Hypnos and depicts passion flowers in a pot that was made by Lydia Corbett once a famous ponytailed muse of Picasso and now an artist who Lillian has exhibited with.  Surrounded by various pieces of Poole pottery, some dead birds and my favourite Eric Leaper horse which admittedly has a vague My Little Pony feel (!), the painting seems to have settled in nicely. You can see more of Lillian’s work here.

Lillian Delevoryas painting

Lillian Delevoryas painting and mantlepiece with mid century modern ceramics

Share this post...
Posted in Interior Photography, Lifestyle Photography, Mark Bolton Photography Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

Chateau Impney

March 24, 2013 by Mark | Leave a comment

I’ve been hard at work in Worcestershire recently, photographing the recently updated (ongoing!) Chateau Impney Hotel, in Droitwich Spa.  A fabulous building, dating from the 1870′s, Chateau Impney was made in to a hotel and exhibition/conference space in the 1970s.  The hotel went in to a decline in the late 20th century, but has been revitalised by its new owners.  PR and marketing gurus ‘Alias‘ were bought in to help bring the website and marketing in to the modern era, and they called me in to  shoot a new set of pics for the website.  Now the results are there for all to see, and apparently its already having the desired effect….  There are still areas of the hotel that we need to photograph when they’re done, but you can see from their new site that there have been vast improvements!

Chateau Impney website

Chateau Impney website, Home Page

Share this post...
Posted in Food Photography, Hotel Photography, Interior Photography, Lifestyle Photography Tagged , , , |